SAINT MARY OF THE SNOW SOCIETY
BROOKLYN, NY
Each year, the Society of Our Lady of the Snow celebrates the feast day of our Patron Saint on August the 5th. The festivities begin each year on July 27th with our Candlelight Procession through the streets of Greenpoint/WIlliamsburg.
Each night of our feast, we host novena prayers, and different events at the Society hall for members and guests of all ages.
On August the 5th, we hold an ceremony, a mass, and a procession, where the members of the Society, and other members of our community proudly march the streets of Greenpoint/Williamsburg again to praise our Blessed Mother.
What is the Feast of Our Lady of the Snow?
In the year 352, during the reign of Pope Liberius, there lived a wealthy couple who had no children and wanted to give their money to the church for a good cause.
They prayed to the Blessed Mother to give them a sign as to what they should do. During the evening of August 4th into August 5th, the Blessed Mother appeared to them in a dream and told them "Where you see snow, you are to build a church!"
Now, in Rome, during August, it is unbearable hot and no one can ever expect to find snow.
Our Lady of the Snow - Brooklyn, New York
Yet this couple had faith and went directly to the Pope in the morning with their story as to how the Blessed Mother Appeared to them both at the same time in a dream. Imagine their surprise to find that indeed at the same time the Blessed Mother to them, she had also appeared to pope Liberius.
So they and the people of the town went out to seek the place where snow would be and sure enough, on Esquiline Hill, right near the termini in Rome, they found a patch of snow covering the ground in the outline of the building that was to be built. The hot sun beat down on the hillside but could not melt the pure white snow glistening in its light.
Here they build a church in honor of Our Lady of the Snow and it is known as the Basilica of "Santa Maria Maggiore"
Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Photo by Nick Laveglia in 2016
What does the Feast have to do with the town of Sanza?
In the years that passed there were many persecutions of Catholics in Rome and elsewhere. During the Byzantine Iconoclasm, a Greek couple, sealed a statue of Our Lady of the Snow and a manuscript in the wall of a cave, at the top of Monte Cervati in Sanza, Italy, for safekeeping. It was here that many years later a shepherd tending his flock noticed a very strange behavior: As the sheep passed the wall of the grotto, one by one, the sheep would pause and kneel. The shepherd reported this incident to the townspeople. The wall was opened and the statue and manuscript were found. Devotion to Our Lady of the Snow in Sanza began in the year 900 AD, and the chapel at the top of Monte Cervati was built in 1599.
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Every year in Sanza, on July 27th, the townspeople carry a Statue of Our Lady of the Snow up to the top of Monte Cervati. At the summit of the mountain, almost 2 km above sea level, daily prayers, masses and devotions are held. The festivities last for nine days, and then, early in the morning on August 5th, the townspeople carry the statue back down the mountain, and through the streets of the town. The festivities are maked in Sanza with concerts, festivals, food, performances, games, fireworks, and fun!
Views of and from the summit of Monte Cervati, Sanza, Italy - Photos by Natalia D'Onofrio, August 2013
Entering the cave of La Madonna della Grotta, and Statue from Early Christian Era of the Snow/La Madonna della Grotta at the summit of Monte Cervati, Sanza, Italy - Photos by Natalia D'Onofrio, August 2013
August 5th - Our Lady of the Snow Procession down from Monte Cervati and through the streets of Sanza, Italy - Photos by Natalia D'Onofrio, August 2013
A problem arose as the grotto itself was in the town of Sanza on Monte Cervati but the entrance to the grotto was in land that belonged to the town of Peragine. Both towns claimed ownership of the statue and a disagreement arose.
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The matter was brought before a judge who proclaimed that they should go back and ring their church bells and the town whose bells were heard would be the owner of the statue.
The people went back to their respective towns, and the bells of Sanza, which was six miles away were heard more loudly than those of Peragine which was only four miles away.
So the town of Sanza was awarded the beautiful statue. They built a shrine in her honor and people from all over visit Sanza on August the 5th to honor "La Madonna della Neve".
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Many miracles have been attributed to Our Lady of the Snows in Sanza over the years, including protecting the town from destruction by Nazi forces at the end of World War II, and protection of the townspeople from a lightning bolt on Monte Cervati during the her feast in the 1970s.
Images: Left: Interior of Our Lady of the Snow's Chapel on Monte Cervati. Middle: Dedication Plaque , interior of Our Lady of the Snow's Chapel on Monte Cervati. Right: Exterior of Chapel at summit of Monte Cervati
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Photos by Natalia D'Onofrio, August 2013
Sanza, Italy in 2016. Photo Credit Nick Laveglia